


Something Sweet to Bite

by Burgie



Category: Star Stable Online
Genre: F/F, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-31
Updated: 2017-10-31
Packaged: 2019-01-27 06:55:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,772
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12576188
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burgie/pseuds/Burgie
Summary: The gang goes trick or treating. This fic has as many character credits as a dang meetup post. Z/Zelda belongs to ZDusk, Izabella/Dizzy belongs to hollow_moon, Jack belongs to SSO-Jack-Wolfwatcher, Gwendolyn/Reed belongs to hobbithorsewhat on tumblr, Elsa/Race belongs to twracehorse on tumblr, Eden/Zeal belongs to sso-eden-dawnvalley on tumblr, Jacqueline/Jacky belongs to Zebrablanket, Alessa/Lea belongs to sso-duskhill on tumblr, and Esmeralda/Shadow belongs to Shadowlord13.





	Something Sweet to Bite

Louisa didn't budge when there was a knock at the door. She was watching her favourite Halloween movie, as was tradition, and she was nice and warm in her blanket. Even now, over two years after arriving in Jorvik on the other side of the world, she still wasn't used to the weather cooling down around her birthday. By Halloween, it was downright chilly.

"I'll get it," said Lisa, walking past the back of the couch and letting her hand brush over Louisa's hair. Louisa smiled, glancing up at her girlfriend for a moment before her eyes returned to the screen. Honestly, Beetlejuice was the best Halloween movie, right up there with Gremlins. "Oh, hey, guys."

"Where is she?" asked Z, and Louisa could just imagine her friend with her arms crossed in front of her chest. She laughed, pausing her movie so she could listen in to the conversation. If she went to the door, Z would only drag her outside.

"I think she's going to give Halloween a miss this year," said Lisa. "That race with Katja really spooked her."

"It did sound pretty scary," said Jack, and Louisa pursed her lips, seriously debating whether or not to get up. If even Jack had managed to tag along, then...

"Well, she can't hide away from the world forever just because she got scared once," said another voice, and Louisa was surprised and a little alarmed at the knowledge that even Izabella had tagged along. She wondered who else was there, but then she'd have to get up, and they might try to get her to leave the house and venture out into the uncertain, scary landscape of Jorvik...

"I dunno, she's managed it pretty well for almost a week now," said Lisa.

"Let's not let her make it a week," said Izabella, and Louisa resisted the childish urge to hide beneath the blanket as she heard Izabella's footsteps coming through the house. The chicken-masked girl stopped in front of her, standing between Louisa and the TV.

"I've got the movie paused anyway," Louisa pointed out.

"Good, then you're ready to go," said Izabella. "You can go as a scaredy-cat. Come on, up." She tried to pull Louisa off the couch, but Louisa didn't move.

"I don't want to," said Louisa, trying not to tremble. Izabella wasn't scary, she could just be a little full-on at times.

"Ugh, you need to get out of the house, girl," said Izabella. "Are you really going to let Katja win by making you too afraid to leave your house?"

"I can't even go to my house," said Louisa, looking down. Izabella groaned.

"Look, just come out trick or treating with us, it's not that scary," said Izabella. "Maybe you'll feel better after you've actually been outside, you hermit."

"But there are nice things inside," said Louisa, but she got up anyway, shivering slightly in the sudden chill from the cooler air hitting her blanket-warmed body.

"You probably don't even have a costume, do you?" asked Izabella, following Louisa to the bedroom and rooting through her closet and drawers.

"Well, you don't, either," said Louisa. "You're just wearing that chicken mask you always wear."

"Still counts," said Izabella. "Wear a cat mask or something. Hey, here's an outfi- ew!" Louisa blushed, but she couldn't help but laugh at the disgusted look on Izabella's face.

"Oh, like you've never dressed up for Syntax," said Louisa.

"Nope," said Izabella, wisely deciding to step away from the cupboards for now.

"Really? Not even to distract him from his work?" asked Louisa, making her way over to the wardrobe and grabbing a headband with cat ears on it.

"No, his work is very important," said Izabella. "And I'm not a kinky bitch like you and Jack."

"Don't kinkshame," said Louisa, while she searched for the cat dress that she'd bought in Jarlaheim ages ago. "Now, shoo, I'm getting dressed."

"I can do whatever the hell I want," said Izabella, but she left the room anyway, leaving Louisa to change into her 'costume' in peace.

"So you decided to go after all?" asked Lisa when she saw her girlfriend.

"Yeah," said Louisa, tucking her hair behind her ear. The headband did a good job of keeping it in place, but some of it still slipped out anyway. "Dizzy convinced me."

"You're welcome," said Izabella, giving a little flourish as she presented Louisa to the group of friends. Louisa was slightly surprised to find Elsa, Esmeralda, and Gwendolyn here, too, but it was still great to see them all anyway.

"Hi, guys," said Louisa, giving them a little smile and a wave.

"Yay, you made it!" Z cheered. "Nice job, Dizz."

"It's a gift," said Izabella. 

"Plus you've had a lot of practice getting Syntax out of the house," said Jack.

"Thank you for wearing a tasteful costume," said Gwendolyn. She was dressed as a druid, which was fitting. Personally, Louisa didn't think that that was much of a costume, given that it was Reed's everyday wear, but it still looked very nice on her.

"There are children on Jorvik, and it's too cold to wear that," said Louisa, her cheeks warming her nicely. She was beginning to feel a little more comfortable already.

"You don't want to come too, do you?" asked Izabella, seeing Lisa still standing in the doorway.

"Nah, I won't make all of you the third wheel," said Lisa.

"Good choice," said Elsa. She looked a little put out, and Louisa smiled upon remembering that Galloper wasn't present this year. She was even wearing his shirt.

"C'mon, let's go, we've still gotta meet up with Jacky and Lea," said Z, tilting her pirate cap at a rakish angle. "And Zeal, if she's coming."

"That's going to be quite a big group," said Louisa, feeling slightly nervous now.

"Safety in numbers," said Z, smiling at her, and Louisa grinned. That was true.

"Pick a horse, any horse," said Gwendolyn, laughing as Louisa stood in front of Jorvik Stables, trying to figure out which horse to take. Some of her horses were stabled here, having been moved from New Hillcrest so that she could still be close to them.

"Goldie," said Louisa. "But one sec." She grabbed some of the pumpkin lady's magical powder out of her dress pocket (Maya had delivered the powder to her amid much gushing about the magical horses belonging to the pumpkin lady) and sprinkled it over her Jorvik Warmblood. In a flash, he was transformed into a cool-looking skeleton horse. A second application of powder added flaming hooves, and Louisa pulled herself up into his saddle. "Alright, now we can go."

The group trotted down to the ferry dock, where they took the ferry to Fort Pinta and picked up Jacky and Lea. Jacky was dressed as some famous rock star, while Lea was wearing a Dark Rider outfit.

"A witch, huh?" said Jacky, eyeing Shadow's outfit. "That's not offensive to the witches here or anything, is it?"

"Well, if it is, too bad," said Shadow, shrugging. "I hope the druids don't mistake you for a real Dark Rider, Lea."

"If they do, I'll kindly correct them," said Reed.

"Well, if they mistake me for a werewolf, they're not wrong," said Jack with a laugh. "Only I probably look a bit different to a real one."

"Just a bit," said Louisa. She'd never actually seen Jack's wolf form, though she'd wanted to. She'd asked, but he'd only told her that it was too dangerous, so she'd let the matter lie.

"And are you supposed to be a cat?" asked Jacky, looking at Louisa.

"A scaredy-cat," said Louisa.

"I was joking when I said that," said Izabella.

"It was a good idea," said Louisa with a shrug. "And my other cat suit is..."

"Adults-only?" Z guessed. Louisa nodded, feeling a little ashamed. Shadow patted her shoulder reassuringly.

"You're not alone there, don't worry," said Shadow with a laugh.

"Anyway, shall we go on?" asked Reed. Jacky and Lea nodded, and the group of them moved on.

"Is Zeal not coming?" asked Louisa. She'd only met the other girl a few times, but she did miss her presence.

"She's at home working on her outfit," said Reed. "She said she'll meet us in Moor."

"Ugh, it feels so weird going there now," said Z.

"I know," said Louisa. "I keep expecting Loretta to bite my head off."

When the group reached Moorland and saw Zeal's costume, Jack frowned (though it wasn't visible beneath his mask).

"Aw, c'mon, you said nobody would wear a pop culture costume, Z!" Jack complained, gesturing to Zeal's Star Wars costume.

"No, I said you'd worn the Lupin outfit last year so you shouldn't do it again this year," said Z. Louisa laughed at her friends' banter.

"Ali and Astrid are doing their own rounds," said Reed. "We might see them along the way. And our group will probably clear out several candy bowls as it is." A laugh was shared amongst the group.

"Onwards to candy!" Jacky declared, and they set off, Reed leading the charge on her large green Jorvik Wild. While they made their slow progress, Louisa looked around at all of the decorations. She hadn't seen any of it before, mostly because her face had been buried in Lisa's shoulder for most of the ride back. She'd been too scared to look then, but now, with her friends, she felt safer. There was safety in numbers, after all.

"No apple bobbing this year?" asked Louisa. She could hear the magical chiming of the ghosts, though.

"No, they were put away," said Race. "Which is stupid. This year's Halloween sucks."

"You're just bitter because your boyfriend didn't show up," Z teased.

"No apple bobbing? Worst Halloween ever," said Louisa. "And okay, being scared by Galloper was scary, but at least it didn't come with the humiliation of having been jump scared by a fucking pumpkin." She gripped the reins tightly, and Goldie nickered and glanced back at her. To her relief, her friends didn't laugh at her, but some were wearing masks so they might have smiled.

"The decorations are nice, though," said Lea.

"I really like the cauldron," said Louisa, seeing the little bubbling cauldron with a broom beside it. "You could use it for your costume, Shadow."

"I think you'd be a millionaire by now if you had a shilling for every time someone said that," said Reed, laughing as Shadow rolled her eyes.

"Sorry, I didn't see them," said Louisa.

"Well, that's what happens when you hide in your house," said Z.

"I seem to recall you crying last time we watched a horror movie," said Race, and Louisa was glad that the attention had been taken off of her, even at Z's expense.

"Alright, fine, so we're a bunch of scaredy-cats," said Z.

"Some scaredy-cats," Race corrected.

"Yes, some," said Jacky. "But all of us are hungry, and the candy awaits."

The hunt began, as the group descended on Silverglade Village and dismounted, leaving their horses in Steve's paddock while they went door to door. Donald the tailor, to the surprise of absolutely nobody, only had a bowl of candy outside with a little paper sign that said 'take some'.

"What's to stop us from just taking all of it?" asked Jacky.

"Our good conscience," said Reed as she put a handful of candy in her own bowl. Everyone else followed her example, except for Lea and Jacky, who emptied the rest of the bowl between their bowls while cackling madly. "Or not."

As they walked away, though, Louisa looked back and saw Donald duck outside, put a new bowl of candy out, and then zip back inside. She smiled, and chimed in with the 'trick or treat' as everyone held their candy bowls out to Felix with big grins on their faces. He gave them some chocolate.

The Baroness gave out grapes, which most people turned their noses up at, but Louisa enjoyed the dash of healthiness amid all the sugary goodness.

They moved through Jorvik like this, dismounting their horses to knock at doors and grabbing handfuls of candy from any bowls left out. By the time they reached Golden Hills Valley, Louisa was having such a good time that she didn't even notice where they were until they jumped over the broken bridge. Then, she paused for a moment, looking at the abandoned hill where it had happened.

"Oh shit, I wasn't even thinking," said Jack. "We can go back if you want."

"Actually, I think I'm okay," said Louisa. "I feel safe when I'm with you guys."

"Aww," Z cooed.

"If it makes you feel any better, Scarecrow Joe hasn't been seen since that day," said Race. "You're not the only one she spooked."

"Definitely not," said Goldie, pinning his ears and trotting a little faster. His magical powders had worn off several times, so now he was sporting a powder that caused a cloud of spectral bats to fly around his head while his form looked like a mummy.

"Yeah, that does make me feel better," said Louisa. "I wonder if dad is sitting at home waiting for trick or treaters."

"Only one way to find out," said Reed. They made their way into the fishing village, leaving their horses tied near the well in the middle, and worked their way around the town until they reached the red house where Louisa's father lived. Louisa knocked on the door.

"Trick or treat," they chorused, and the man's face broke into a grin when he saw his daughter standing there. She put her candy bowl down (Reed guarded it with her life from the thieving Jacky and Lea), and father and daughter embraced, Louisa grinning.

"I haven't seen you for a while," said her father after letting her go.

"Yeah, things got a little... crazy," said Louisa. "Magic stuff."

"Ah," said her father, nodding. "Well, just remember that you're always welcome to visit."

"I know," said Louisa, smiling. "And thank you, dad. I'll come and see you real soon." She gave him one more hug before she stepped away, collecting her bowl of candy.

By the time they reached New Hillcrest, it was getting darker, and the witches had begun to fly around Jarlaheim, Silverglade castle, and the fishing village. But Louisa still felt safe, being with her friends. It also helped that she was full of sugar, and all of them were full of good spirits. Bernadine gave them the most candy of the night, including some giant Toblerones.

"I deserve this giant Toblerone," Z whispered, holding it reverently.

"Weeb," Izabella teased her, even as she was walking over to her own geeky boyfriend. Z rolled her eyes and Louisa smiled.

The gang returned Louisa home around midnight, after making the rounds to every accessible house on Jorvik. Even Jonas had left out some candy for them, despite his little granddaughter still being lost in Jorvik City somewhere.

"Well, did you have fun?" asked Lisa when she opened the door, but she could tell by the look on Louisa's face that it had been a great night. Louisa put the candy bowl down and hugged her, not minding that Lisa stole a handful of candy.

"It was the best," said Louisa. She turned around, looking to where her friends still stood outside Herman's house. "Thanks for dragging my cowardly butt out of the house, Dizz."

"Well, someone had to," said Izabella.

"I'm glad you had fun," said Reed, smiling at her.

"I even got over my fear of home," said Louisa, grinning at the thought. Her cheeks almost hurt from smiling so much. "And I saw dad again, which was really great."

"Aww, I'm glad you're happy," said Lisa. She looked at the group of friends. "Thanks for convincing her to go out, you guys."

"Like I said, someone had to," said Izabella with a shrug.

"Goodnight, it was fun," said Louisa, smiling at her friends while Lisa still had an arm around her waist. "I'll probably see at least some of you tomorrow."

"Count on it," said Race. "We haven't gone ghost hunting yet."

"Oh yeah, the great annual ghost hunt, how could I forget that?" said Louisa. "Come get me when you're starting."

"Will do," said Z, giving her a salute. After bidding each other farewell, the group of friends left to return home, and Louisa closed the front door and wrapped her arms around her girlfriend in a tight hug.

The time for hiding was over. It was time to rejoin society, pumpkin jumpscares be damned.


End file.
